Legal Counsel

Hybrid: From home and our office at Amsterdam Central Station

Salary: up to EUR 62.000 plus excellent secondary benefits (see below)

Full-time: 37.5 hours per week

IMPORTANT: you should be living in the Netherlands

Join our RIPE NCC Legal Team and help support daily operational activities in our Amsterdam office.

We are a team of five lawyers responsible for all legal aspects of the organisation, defining the RIPE NCC’s legal framework, providing advice, and giving legal support for all RIPE NCC activities. We work quite closely together as a team, but you will also have the opportunity to work independently.

We are looking for someone who is reliable, organised, a team player and has good verbal and written communication skills. Integrity is also a really important aspect of the role.

🧠 What you will be doing:

• Ensuring compliance with all relevant legislation and company policies/procedures, including researching, analysing and interpreting law and its impact to the organisation’s operations

• Supporting the legal framework of the organisation and services, by drafting of agreements and T&Cs, organisation procedures and policies

• Providing legal advice to colleagues and departments, by managing a variety of assigned legal activities and projects

• Support the arbiter’s secretariat in all its administrative and legal duties when needed

• Perform other duties within the scope of the function assigned to or required within the RIPE NCC

👀 What We're Looking For:

• Master in Law (LLM) and, around five years of experience in a similar position

• Experience with GDPR and corporate compliance with laws and regulations

• Experience in drafting of legal documents and legal analysis

• Good verbal and written communication skills in English, Dutch would be a plus

• Someone organised and reliable with the ability to work both independently and as part of a team

• Integrity in maintaining a high level of confidentiality with regard to all information handled

• Ability to work harmoniously in multicultural environment

• Fast learner and strong analytical skills

📢What you can expect from us:

• A modern, flexible and informal work environment with an emphasis on a healthy work/life balance

• Flexible work-from-home policy, so you can arrange your weekly office and 'working from home' days in a way that works for you. Working from abroad for a number of days per year is also possible

• An annual salary up to 62.000 EUR (before tax). This includes the standard 8% annual “holiday pay”.

• Excellent secondary benefits: 5% end-of-year allowance, annual budgets for health, transportation and technology purposes, non-contributory pension scheme, paid parental leave, top-tier health insurance coverage for you and your family and 33 vacation days (full-time 37.5 hours)

• A generous training budget each year that can be used for professional development

• An in-house free barista providing healthy varied lunches on Tuesdays and Wednesdays and nice breakfasts on Thursdays, plus regularly office drinks.

• Casual team events such as: Team outings, Christmas party and a summer BBQ.

🛜About the RIPE NCC

The RIPE NCC is a not-for-profit organisation founded on the belief that the Internet should be governed openly, transparently and together with the wider Internet community. We are one of the oldest Internet organisations in Europe and are proud of our legacy.

Our strength is our staff. We bring together more than 180+ people from over 44 countries in our modern, vibrant office in the east wing of Amsterdam Central Station. Currently, we have a hybrid way of working and allow our staff to work from their homes and the office. Our official working language is English, but our colleagues speak more than 30 languages.

Our backgrounds are diverse, but our goal is the same: we work for the good of the Internet. Will you join us?

📋How to apply

If interested, please click the ‘Apply’ button and submit your CV and cover letter in English. Adding a cover letter is highly important and appreciated, our team read them carefully.

Not ready to apply yet? Then send me an email to openings@ripe.net and we can have an informal chat.

At the RIPE NCC, we are proud to serve our members and the RIPE community in 76 countries across Europe, the Middle East and Central Asia. We celebrate unique perspectives and talents from different backgrounds and cultures. So if you're passionate about what you do and want to help shape the future of the Internet, apply now - we'd love to hear your story.

Please note that due to the nature of our activities, we will require successful candidates to follow a pre-employment screening (conducted by our partner Validata). This involves requesting a criminal record and education certificates.

MEET THE TEAM:
Kevin Brennan joined us three years ago as a Legal Counsel. We sat down with him to hear his thoughts about working on the Legal team at the RIPE NCC.

👉  What do you enjoy the most about working at the RIPE NCC?
There are many reasons why working at the RIPE NCC provides enjoyment in both a professional and personal context. In terms of professional satisfaction, it is important to me that the work I am doing creates a positive impact on the world. The RIPE NCC, as a not-for-profit organisation facilitating an open, inclusive and collaborative Internet, certainly provides an outlet for this professional fulfilment. Undoubtedly, however, the greatest enjoyment is from working alongside all of my very passionate, diverse and outgoing colleagues. Not only is this evident in the Legal team but across the organisation as a whole, where working towards a common goal, for the betterment of the Internet, creates a very positive and welcoming environment.

👉 What’s the most exciting part of your job?
As our service region covers Europe, the Middle East and Central Asia, we are constantly being presented in the Legal team with a wide diversity of topics. This combined with the close collaborative working environment means that you are made familiar with new concepts on a near regular basis, creating a really unique working experience. If in one week you are reviewing contracts for an event, the next week you may be researching the impact of a new law or providing advice to other departments on a whole range of topics. The tasks therefore rarely become stale, and there is always seemingly something new on the horizon. Yet due to the close collaboration that we have, it never feels overbearing; rather, the continuous discussions within the team make for something truly unique and exciting.

👉 What’s different about being a legal counsel at the RIPE NCC compared to other organisations?
Prior to joining the RIPE NCC three years ago, I worked in a number of different sectors, most recently in the financial sector. What is most different about working at the RIPE NCC compared to my previous experience is the sheer range of topics and opportunities for learning that arise while working as a legal counsel here. With such a wide-range of topics, given the size of the service region and the cultural and legal complexities that exist within it, the tasks never seem to take on a robotic, monotonous tone as can become the case elsewhere. Stress is also placed on providing well thought-out, solidly researched advice rather than quick, haphazard solutions forced upon you under time constraints. This gives you the opportunity to really engage in the topics that are under your stewardship and complete assignments with concrete, future-proof solutions, leaving you with a real sense of pride in the work produced.